If you’re wondering how long the iPhone 4S battery lasts; the answer is: not very long. In fact, iPhone 4S battery life issues have customers complaining…a lot.

We all know that any Apple release; the whole drama, from inception through production and delivery is, well pretty dramatic. No Apple product would get its proper welcome into the world without at least one issue people love to gripe about:

Personally, I’ve buckled down and am still waiting for the iPhone 5. Although I don’t own an iPhone 4S myself, my roommate upgraded from his old BlackBerry to the 4S, after he finally had enough of his cracked screen, (which was definitely my fault; a story for another time ). Because of this, I got some hands on time with his iPhone 4S and although I do have a lot of respect for the sturdy OtterBox case he got for it, I’m being careful this time around.

That being said, I became aware of the 4S’ battery life (or lack thereof), a couple of days ago and when I saw the NY Times post on the same issue, I decided to weigh in on the topic here on SheBytes.

Sure, if we look at the facts, Apple promised a battery life which would support:

Standby time: Up to 200 hours, (unlikely…)

Internet use: Up to 9 hours on Wi-Fi, (a reach but not impossible)

Audio playback: Up to 40 hours, (that’s awesome!)

But I think that the most likely cause of the recent consumer battery complaints is simple; like with anything new there’s a learning curve.

Allow me to explain.

When prospective iPhone clientele saw the device’s commercials, anticipation built up…for months. They got extremely high expectations of what the device would be capable of once they got their hands on one. Once they actually got the device in hand, things weren’t as magical as they imagined.

As people play with their 4S, they’ll further adjust and customize the settings so that they suit their individual needs and boost battery life as much as possible. So while I’m not claiming that the iPhone 4S battery is flawless, it’s pretty unsurprising that a device with so much functionality can drain a battery so quickly.

Apple announced and acknowledged the issues with the iPhone 4S battery life, as reported here on CNN. Plans are underway for a software update that should help resolve this issue with a timetable of “a few weeks”.

We have five tips and tricks for the new Apple iOS 5 operating system, released earlier in the week. We have been playing around with it a few days and couldn’t be more excited about the new features!

1. Notification Centre

Possibly the most awaited feature, a nicely organized notifications centre, can be accessed by swiping down with your fingers from the top of the screen. It slides down by letting you view your widgets (weather and stocks) and any new messages and updates. If you go to Settings > Notifications, you can select apps to appear in the Notification Centre according to your personal preferences.

2. Easier Camera Access

A great feature if you want to make a quick snapshot without unlocking your phone! You can double tap the home button while your phone is locked, and a camera icon will appear.

3. Auto Focus Lock

Another camera feature, lets you use AE/AF lock , to lock your target and exposure. To access this feature, tap and hold on the point of focus on screen. When you see a message appear at the bottom of your screen “AE/AF lock” , select it; it will greatly increase the quality of shots, even if you have not yet upgraded to the iPhone 4s.

4. Quick Message Reply

Graphically, a very nicely designed feature, with quick message reply you can set up for your messages to pop up in an Alert, with the Badge App Icon. To set it up, go to Settings > Notification > Messages. Now when you receive a message you can tap on the icon and drag to reply instantly.

5. SIRI (iPhone 4S models only)

To access the most exciting new iPhone 4S update, a voice controlled assistant, press and hold the home button until you see a mic icon appear.

The iPhone 4S is here; we have an official SheBytes reveiw and pictures of the new iPhone! The release was today; our unboxing and your first look!

The wait is officially over and we have a first look at the iPhone 4S! For those of you who tried avoiding queues that started forming as early as 6am this morning (the more active fans were already there from night before) we bring you images in our “Unboxing of iPhone 4s” which was purchased just couple hours ago at Apple’s Upper West side store.

To our surprise all models were available today including fresh 64GB addition, which we have the pleasure to showcase.

Siri: The most surprising and exiting feature is Siri, a personal assistant, all you need is hold the home button for a mic icon to appear, and you can ask any question you wish…

We asked Siri

“What is the population of New York?”

Siri replies:

“This might answer your question”

We said ”Thank you” as a joke without hoping for a response, and thats when we were sold on the Iphone 4s upgrade, Siri replied ” Your wish is my command”

We decided to test it again asking ”what is the weather like today” , SIRI replies “It doesn’t look so nice today”

Siri’s witty sense of humor is incredible….

Camera: For your personal comparison, we took an image of the same cup with iPhone 4 and iPhone 4s

iPhone 4 – Original Camera

iPhone 4S – New Camera

THE VERDICT: This is the best model yet for those of you who decide to switch from RIM, or Android, you are doing it at the right time, as a combination of a faster processor, SLR type camera, freshly updated iOS 5 and last and not least Siri update makes this to our opinion one of the leading smartphones available on the market today and newly integrated iCloud support is just an icing .. same goes for those of you who are thinking of upgrading from a 3G or any previous models. However if you have an iPhone 4 which you just installed iOS 5 on, you could hold on until the next model, but Siri and 8-Megapixel making it a very difficult temptation to resist.

After months of anticipation, Apple has revealed the features of its fresh and revamped iOS 5. Since the iOS 5 was first announced at June’s WWDC, we have been ticking down the days of the calendar, but at last it has arrived!

10am Pacific time thousands rushed to their freshly updated iTunes 10.5 to download the new software update. The update brought us over 200 new features; we will highlight a couple of the most exciting ones for you today!

iMessage
Possibly one for the most anticipated release features is Apples version of BBM called “iMessage”. The release could not be more ironic with RIM’s server crashing yesterday, leaving hundreds and thousands of dedicated Blackberry users (globally) questioning whether it’s time to make a change to an iPhone. We think that Blackberry…

is the new, this:

iMessage is available to all Apple’s iOS 5 devices, including iPhone/iPad/iPod. Like RIM’s BBM, it’s an internal platform / free messaging system which is set-up using your phone number or email registered with Apple. It enables you to message your friends who use iOS devices completely free of charge (keep in mind it uses the Internet to do that, so check with your carrier regarding your data plans, especially when traveling abroad to avoid crazy fees). The new iMessage threatens to put a lot of third party messaging apps out of business.

Notifications
Another great feature that is brought to us in this update is “Notification Centre” which basically transfers the usual push-notification that interrupts you while using your phone (most of us are familiar with Facebook picture likes popping up every minute) into a neatly organized “banner” like interface. It organizes all your notification including messages, emails, tweets, Facebook notifications and others. Alongside the notifications, you have a choice of a weather and stock widget. Unfortunately, at the moment, third party apps cannot create widgets to go into your “Notification Centre,” however, that feature will probably be available in the next update.

iCloud
One of the more revolutionary features begging to be integrated into Apple apps is available today is the iCloud, which we mentioned in detail in an article titled: The iCloud and Apple’s Creativity

iCloud is basically a more advanced / fancy version of Mobile me, which includes over the air sync of Mail, Contacts, Calendar and Bookmarks with an add on of iPhoto sync and iWork suite. iCloud spans all iOS 5 devices that you register to your iCloud account.

This service will also let you back up your iOS devices in the cloud. iTunes recently underwent an iCloud makeover and will let you re-download content that was previously purchased across all your iOS devices!

Camera
iPhone 4 is known as a great way to make almost “SLR” quality images, and those of you who use your iPhone as a camera on a daily basis will appreciate the little adjustments that were brought to us today.

You can now take pictures a lot more efficiently and quickly by using the “volume up” button; this can be extremely useful when you are trying to capture something in its momentum and you don’t have much time to go through all of your apps and folders.

Other features include a grid option, that overlays your screen and helps you frame shots. And an exposure lock, which you can use by tapping and holding a section of a photo.

And now you can have access to your camera without unlocking your phone by double tapping the home button, which brings out an iPhoto app, in similar to the way you can bring up you iPod!

iPhoto also underwent iCloud integration, which, once set up with your photo stream, will be automatically available on all your iCloud devices.

Other great updates include Twitter integration which features a “tweet” option to share a website or a picture. All you need to do to activate the feature is log in to your account by going to the Setting app.

Safari app also got an update with a “reading list” which lets you mark web-pages in a similar “bookmark” concept, however it organizes them far more efficiently.

Some of the other feature include Newsstand, Reminders and many more….!

Siri voice control is coming soon; to those lucky ones to get their hands on the iPhone 4S hardware which is going to be released this Friday October 14th, coming to Apple shop near you! Pictures after the jump!

What is the best gadget for pets? For your dog, it is the Retrieva Collar, the world’s first tracking and anti-theft dog collar. Using GPS technology, the Retrieva Collar will make sure Fido is never lost. The collar locates your pet and displays the information to you via computer or cell phone. Integrated, snug-fitting yet comfortable design, the collar is made of anti-cut webbing and includes automated tamper and anti–theft alerts.

This collar is super advanced. There are too many features to list, my favorites are below:

Live tracking to your computer, mobile phone, or iPad.

Provides speed of dog and direction of travel data.

Location and full status messages on request.

Capability to create virtual fences (geofence).

Panic alert button for the owner (ex: if something happens out on a hike), device will send your location to chosen phone numbers.

Alert messages on battery strength, arriving / leaving safe areas.

Historical record of walks, speed of travel, time. Records up to 7,000 locations and data within its memory so you can view history of walks and see where your dog really goes if it escapes, or spends all day roaming.

Waterproof so your dog can go swimming with it on!

Works on all smartphones including iPhone, Nokia, HTC, Samsung, etc. It will show your location relative to the dog using your phone’s GPS capability. Blackberry’s do not support live tracking.

Partnered with ViewRanger to deliver market leading topographical mapping software for terrain.

International coverage using international roaming SIM card.

LED-based performance feedback, so you can see how good signal strength is.

Updates for the operating system ‘over the air’ via automatic download.

I’m a big time animal lover and the idea of losing a pet is horrifying. Poor helpless thing out there all on its own… ugh! If you own a bit of land, you have an active pooch, or your dog runs ahead and off on his own during morning walks, this collar is for you. Available to Buy or Rent. (Starting at $285 for purchase or 10-day rental – great for a trip – for $59 – Retreiva)